But perhaps a God decides what is best for all things and everyone and we should use our intelligence to understand what God wants and then impose that on everyone. The state is God and it must use any means necessary to make everyone comply with the will of God. Or taking God out of our politics how do we determine democratically what should be? — Athena
The Greek gods never existed, the atheists, christians and muslims all agree on that one. — universeness
There is also a great deal of bad organisation. I live in Scotland, our population is quite small (Around 5 million). We could build a few more major cities in Scotland, we also have hundreds of uninhabited islands that could be developed but 'there's not enough profit in it.' Hah! total BS, we need to nurture people not profit. — universeness
Oh burn, ssssss- :fire: That was nicely said. I could totally off topic with you what you said, but maybe if we focus on your lead in statement we can have a very meaningful discussion!I see little difference between the mafia Don's and Don Elon Musk or Don Donald Trump. — universeness
Rich, global family dynasties formed out of the dying national aristocracies and monarchies. These became the basis for establishing global banking systems and global conglomerates. — universeness
The socialists/humanist are still here and we still number in the many many millions globally. We will defeat the nefarious completely one day and become an interplanetary/interstellar species. — universeness
Jefferson and the Scottish Enlightenment - Independent Institutehttps://www.independent.org › publications › article
Wills observes that the study of Scottish Enlightenment thought played a prominent role in American education in the second half of the eighteenth century. https://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=2790 — RONALD HAMOWY
So why do people need to be here? — schopenhauer1
May I argue they did exist and were just as real as the God of Abraham? — Athena
Every Evangelical experiences the power of God exactly like the Greeks experienced the power of their gods. — Athena
If you believe Demeter will make you a better mother, sure enough, she will, and if you believe in the power of the God of Abraham, you will see it everywhere. Your belief will explain everything to you validating your truth. — Athena
but we might want to focus on what Rome did to Christianity. — Athena
We could start a new thread about the Scottish Enlightenment and what it has to do with the US democracy. — Athena
Yep, the cool kids never like optimism or happiness - such responses are viewed as gauche, and don't you know life is grave and dreadful? — Tom Storm
Optimism is seen as naive and stupid while pessimism as realistic and intelligent. So perhaps we should rip our clothes and put ash on our head. Sackcloth and ashes. — ssu
By comparing it to a bad meal, not to no meal. — baker
Well, sort of. Assume if you had eaten for your entire life exceptionally great meals, basically always something of the level that one gets in Michelin star restaurants, with added detail to the healthiness of your diet. You wouldn't know how bad food actually people eThat's appreciation for people who have no value system. — baker
Your attacks on me make me want to avoid what you are saying. You might drop assuming what I think, know, and do, and focus on the concepts you want to discuss. — Athena
Of course you may but a concept is an abstract idea. Humans can turn some concept into a reality but they can't create gods, they can only and have only ever been able to insist you accept them on threat of punishment, damnation and/or death. — universeness
I experience natural high's every bit as powerful as any evanhellical or ancient Greek was ever able to. — universeness
I don't advocate for self-delusion as a way to validate truth and I don't think you do either. I understand your observation that many people gain strength and focus by using deities as scapegoats and so they do not have to take responsibility/ownership of their own existence and what we decide to do or what actions we decide to take.
I was watching a program about the days of the partition of India. A Hindu woman had returned to where thousands of Hindus and Sikhs were slaughtered, including some of her own family. She was talking to a Muslim that had witnessed the 'battle' as a child. At one point she asked him why they slaughtered each other as they did. They were both in tears when the old Muslim man said 'don't cry my daughter, this was gods will.' A pathetic excuse imo. Gods as convenient scapegoats. — universeness
Well, I am with those who posit that it is likely that Rome created Christianity — universeness
The "you" in the last post is the universal "you", not you specifically. It's a hypothetical "you". — schopenhauer1
I want to quote from the book Gods in Everyman by Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.. — Athena
I don't know your particular take.. give me a summary and I can talk to that. — schopenhauer1
A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants. — Schopenhauer
Whoo. wait a minute. Do you have any stories of people who believe in many gods behaving like those who think there is only one god who has favorite people and one god's truth? When people believed there are many gods they thought the people who won wars had the strongest god and that was one of the factors that converted people to Christianity. — Athena
This is really important, many gods means learning far more than can be learned with one jealous, revengeful, and fearsome god. That is a war god, not the path to equality and peace. — Athena
Too bad at the time of the enlightenment and the beginning of democracy people did not push against Christianity in favor of science and the power of our minds with more determination. — Athena
What we have to do now is advance the explanations of how thoughts shape our lives and then increase awareness of the positive choices we can make, including education for good moral judgment and that democracy relies on science, not a jealous, revengeful and fearsome god. — Athena
Wait a minute, what is the truth of Demeter making a woman a better mother? She and all the gods and goddesses are archetypes. — Athena
We keep the stories and repeat them because they resonate with something inside of us. All groups of people have their stories that they passed on from generation to generation and these stories are important, just as important as the mythologies of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. — Athena
Which one of us will start the new thread? I need to know more of Scottish thinking and really wish you would start the thread. Is Scottish thinking connected with the Celts? What is the geography of Scotland and how would it shape the people? — Athena
It's very possible for me to see all there is to life, the good and the bad and yet still not think this is enough for me to stay. Life is nothing but a slip of consciousness and just like that you could say it is amazing but I will say this is to be destroyed. Why? Because it can. Do not tell me it's a matter of what feels good and what doesn't, because then choosing to feel bad by choosing to die becomes something that feels good; so feeling good isn't the pinpoint at hand here.
So since I CAN think like this, how can I not think like this? Do not tell me to just be one with life in experience because this is futile and never has been fulfilling. Do not tell me that if I can choose either I should choose life, because I'm saying to you my choice IS non-existence, this is the dilemma: the choice and the confusion of life.
I am looking for the answer that breaks down this thinking and builds myself a new thought basis. — Obscurelaunting
By comparing it to a bad meal, not to no meal.
— baker
We've been created to go well without food for one day, actually. It's water that we need basically daily. — ssu
Well, sort of. Assume if you had eaten for your entire life exceptionally great meals, basically always something of the level that one gets in Michelin star restaurants, with added detail to the healthiness of your diet.
You wouldn't know how bad food actually people e
For an anecdote, I remember once on a Finnish Navy island garrison the commanding officer decided to remember the Winter War by having the conscripts exactly the same kind of food with the historical amount during winter that soldiers were given during WW2...at the same naval fortress. The records were they, so the kitchen had no trouble in recreating the WW2-era cuisine. Hence they got a small portion of porridge (without honey or sugar) and that's it. As the garrison was on a fortress island, the conscript didn't have the chance to order pizza or anything in the evening. The conscripts (who had been born in the 1980's) hadn't experienced cold and hunger. Many said that they respected differently the war veterans after that experience.
I'm absolutely sure that we wouldn't image just what people ate thousands of years ago.
It's very possible for me to see all there is to life, the good and the bad and yet still not think this is enough for me to stay. Life is nothing but a slip of consciousness and just like that you could say it is amazing but I will say this is to be destroyed. Why? Because it can. Do not tell me it's a matter of what feels good and what doesn't, because then choosing to feel bad by choosing to die becomes something that feels good; so feeling good isn't the pinpoint at hand here.
So since I CAN think like this, how can I not think like this? Do not tell me to just be one with life in experience because this is futile and never has been fulfilling. Do not tell me that if I can choose either I should choose life, because I'm saying to you my choice IS non-existence, this is the dilemma: the choice and the confusion of life.
I am looking for the answer that breaks down this thinking and builds myself a new thought basis.
but now I’m overwhelmed with feelings and thoughts that there is no reason to go on — rossii
I don’t think I ever considered myself anti-life, but lately I don’t know… How do I find meaning in meaningless universe?
How to answer question to be or not to be? Problem with suicide for me is that you can’t change your mind after… but now I’m overwhelmed with feelings and thoughts that there is no reason to go on (although I’m no entirely convinced by one option or another…) — rossii
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